Leadership can be challenging. I have been reminded of this a couple of times this last week, both from some volunteer work and at my job, as I have started a new project and am coordinating multiple parties in order to get on the same page and achieve our shared goal.
The volunteer work isn’t overly complicated, but has people’s feelings involved, which is always a bit tricky. My new project is quite daunting as it will take months to complete. So today, I pulled an old classic off the book shelf for encouragement: The Leader in You by Dale Carnegie.
I am sure many of you are familiar with this book, as it is iconic and a book every leader should read. I skimmed the chapter, “Teaming Up for Tomorrow” and found many encouraging nuggets. I thought I would share a nugget that was helpful to me today, so here is an excerpt:
“Create a shared sense of purpose:
People working together can accomplish tremendous things. What gives a team that special boost is the unified vision the individual members share. The ideas, the creativity, the intelligent sparks will ultimate have to come from the group itself. But a strong leader is often needed to focus all that energy – to clarify the vision, to establish goals, to help everyone understand what the team is about, to show the team members how their accomplishments will impact the outside world.”
I am not sure if this gave you any encouragement like it did for me, but I am re-energized and ready to take the lead on these new projects.
What energizes you as a leader?
Brian